Literature as a Window

I thoroughly enjoyed today’s readings. I believe that their writing makes human that which is hard to understand at times, especially considering that they were written by individuals from a specific time and place vastly different than my own. It is one thing to read on the news or watch on TV about ISIS taking over a village or tension between US troops and local residents; at times we perhaps struggle to understand these stories filled with faceless numbers and policies. We can understand what is happening as a historical fact, but we cannot process what it would be like to endure such an event. I think today’s readings show how literature can help us understand the other and perhaps might even encourage compassion towards those amid hardship.

Personally, through today’s readings, I believe I was offered a perspective which I had not seen before. I appreciated the Antoon reading; frankly, I have found my affect frustratingly unmoved when thinking about the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. I’ve known this is an important issue, one which has remained in my prayers, but as stated above, it never really felt human. But stories such as these make the experiences palpable.

I’m left thinking about the power of stories such as these in providing us a look into the lives of others that we imagine are incredibly different from ourselves. Once we have these windows, we might see that the other isn’t really that different at all–something that could do wonders for inter-religious dialogue.